Transmission



F. l. LAWRENCE 2,319,549

TRANSMISSION Fild May 19, 1941 2 sheets-snet 1 May 18, 1943 May 18, 1943 F. 1.. LAWRENCE 2,319,549

TRANSMISSION Filed May 19, 1941 sheet-sheet 2 Patented May 18, 1943 v UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE t TRANSMISSION Frank Lendrum Lawrence, Renton, Wash;

Application May 19,1941, Serial No. 394,154

(cl. vs -27o) -Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in plan etary change speed transmissions and lubricating systems therefor. I Y

The objects ofthe invention are to provide a structure inwhich the parts are so arranged as to facilitate assembly and to provide means whereby the lubricating oil will ow between coaxial parts of the mechanism and through passages dened by anti-friction bearings, so that said bearings shall be kept clear of extraneous accumulation of any kind.

'Ihe invention consists of a planetary transmission, a. shaft surrounded in part by a main drive sleeve and being fitted with a power take off gear, and a planetary train connectingthe shaft to the main sleeve, Iwhich planetary train is enclosed in a rotatable housing, as will be more fully described in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the invention showing the clutches and the change speed transmission to which it is attached.

Fig. 2 is a reduced scale view of the outer clutch flange taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the planetary train taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the clutch and brake control.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the preferred type of control valve.

Figs. 6 and '7 are face views of Ithe valve parts taken on the lines 6-6and 1-'I of Figure 5.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in each gure.

The numeral I indicates the crank shaft ange of a motor to which is fitted a flywheel 2.- The motor is provided with the usual crank shaft housing, not shown, and to said housing a clutch pressure plates 22 and 23.

spectively in which the entire transmission and the clutch driving members are rotatably carried,

` so that by simply removing the fastenings `beand I2l capable of selective operation. Rotatable with the rflywheel and secured thereto by bolts I5, one only of which is shown, is a cylinder head I6 walled as at II-on its periphery to provide cylinders I8 and I9 and having at the outer extremity an annular clutch flange 20. 'I'he walls of the cylinders are splined and are iitted with annular The cylinder I6 is fitted with a piston 25 having peripheral lugs 26, one only shown in Figure 1, to which the pressure plate 22 is connected by bolts 21. This piston is provided with a spring pressed thrust plate 28 to return the piston to normal position of. rest, this thrust plate abuts the flywheel 2 andis held in position by bolts 29 so that on removal of the clutch assembly the thrust plate and its part will remain as a united attached to -theplston 2l.

The cylinder I9 is provided -with a piston III 4which is provided with lugs 3I. one only shown in Figure 1, to which the pressure plate 23 is secured by bolts 32. Springs 33, one only shown, serve to return the piston 30 to normal position.

Communicating with the cylinder I8 is an axially mounted tube 34 through which operating fluid is adapted to be forced from a suitable source'of supply. C'oncentrically mounted around the tube 34 is a tube 35 which communicates with the cylinder I9, leading from the same source of supply to actuate the piston`30.

Clutch plates 3l and 38 each splined. on their outer periphery are tted betweenthe ywheel 2 and pressure plate 22 and between the pressure plate 23 and the 'clutch ange 20 respectively. The clutch plate 3'I is connected by splines 46 to a bell 4I and the clutch plate 38 is connected by splines 42 to a bell 43, which bell is concentric within the bell 4I. The bell 43 is provided with a hub 44 which is sph-ned upon a hollow shaft 50 which is concentric with the operating uid pipes 34 and 35. The shaft 50 is fitted with a su-n gear 52. The rear end of the shaft 50 is tted with the hub 53 of abrake drum 54, and the hub is journalled in a bearing 55 carried by an open brake housing 56 from the wall 50i the housing 3.

Journalled in the main bearings I and 6 is a main sleeve 60 which is fitted intermediate its length with a powervtake off pinion or sprocket 6I and has formed at its inner end a cage 62 in which planet gears 63 in mesh with the sun gear `52 are rotatably carried. The planet gears 63 `see Figure 1, of the cage is 'a bushing 68 which journals the hub of the bell 43. The ring gear 64 and the members 65 and 66 form a rotating housing 69. Supported from the member 66 is a brake drum 10 which obviously rotates in unison with the bell 4 I.

The brake drums 54 and 10 are provided with brake bands respectively indicated by the numerals 'I2 and 13, mounted to be self-energizing and which are actuated by suitable fluid means to be hereinafter described.

Mounted`in a Subsidiary housing 16 is a gear `11 driven from a pinion 18 upon the main sleeve 60 and mounted outside the housing 16 is an oil pump 19 driven from thegear 11. The pump 19 derives its supply from a, suction pipe 80 cornmunicating with the housingr 6 and delivers its oil through a pipe 8| to the interspace between the hollow shaft 50 and the kmain sleeve 60 and through outlets 83 in a branch pipe 84 into the housing 6 and onto the main sleeve '60 and its associated parts. The oil passing between the shaft 50 and the main sleeve 60 discharges into the cage 62 where it lubricates the planetary train and through a duct 85 to the planet gears 63 and the rotatable housing 69, finally passing out through the openings in Wall of 66 into a collector ring 86 and through an opening 81 leading into the housing 6. Oil will fill the subsidiary housing 16.

The outer end of the tubes 34 and 35 leads into suitably glanded chambers indicated by the numerals 88 and 89 which are 1n communication with suitable sources of supply of uid pressure to actuate the clutches II and I2.

Fluid pressure for actuating the brakes and clutches is derived from a suitable source of supply through a pipe 95 (Figure .4) which connects with a manual control valve 96. The control valve 96 consists of a body 91, see Figures 5 and 6, having an inlet port 98 connecting with the pipe 95, a central 'exhaust port 99 and transfer ports |00 and I| to which are connected pipes |02 and |93. Fitted within the body 91r is a ockably mounted disc having an arcuate ported DaS take off the brakes. It will be obvious that the effective piston area is less on the piston rod side than on the rear side adjacent the cylinder head, therefore, in spite of the pressure per unit of area being equal, the effort upon the rear side of each piston will be greater than on the piston rod side and the brake bands will be slackened. When the lever is moved over until the arcuate passage |06 covers one only of the transfer ports, say for instance port |90, then the pressure' will be ex erted only to operate clutch I2 and release the sage |96 capable of simultaneous registry with the inlet port 98 and one or both of the transfer ports |00 and IOI anda T-shaped ported passage |01 which communicates with eithcr'or both the transfer ports and the exhaust port 99. This disc is fitted With a lever |08 by which it may be rocked.

The brake bands12 and 13 are actuated by cylinders IIO and III respectively which are shown diagrammatically in Figure 4, each cylinder includes a piston I I2 and piston rod I3, which latter is connected to the brake band. Pressure is constantly applied to the front of each cylinder IIO and III from the supply pipe 95 to apply the brakes when the rear end of the cylinders is open to exhaust, through the pipes |02 and |03, the transfer ports |00 and |0I and the exhaust port 99 of the control valve 96. The pipes |02 and |03 connect not only with the brake bands but with the cylinders of the clutches II and I2, so that when the valve 96 is set as shown in Figure 4 both clutches are inactive and their pistons, 25 of clutch II and 30 of clutch I2, are returned to normal position by the springs of the thrust plate 29 and the springs 33 respectively. When the handle I 08 of the control valve is moved toA right or left to cause the arcuate passage |06 to register with the inlet port 98 and both transfer ports, pressure will be exerted to both clutches I I and I2 to actuate them and cause both bells 4I and 43 to rotate and also to thrust the pistons of both brake cylinders II 0 and I I forward against the counter pressure from the supply line 95 to brake band 12, while clutch I| will remain inactive and the constant pressure from pipe 95 will keep the band 13 engaged to its drum 10.

The operation of the transmission is as follows:

When the hollow shaft is rotated through the engagement of the clutch I2 and the ring gear 64 is held at rest, the planet gears 63 are rotated and caused to travel around the ring gear, thus imparting rotation through the cage 62 and the main sleeve and the take off pinion 6I. When the clutch I I is engaged and the clutch |2 disengaged-the sun gear is held at rest through the brake drum being engaged by the brake band 12 and the ring gear rotated about it, consequently the planet gears 63 will travel around the sun gear and rotate the take of pinion 5I at intermediate speed. When both clutches II and I2 are engaged both brakes are released, the planetary train, the hollow shaft 50 and the main sleeve 60 will rotate as a unit, giving engine speed to the take off pinion 6I.

What I claim as my invention is:

vl. A planetary transmission having a shaft and a main drive sleeve surrounding said shaft and spaced therefrom to define an annular oil passage, a housing rotatable with the sleeve, a planetary train within the rotatable housing, said planetary train connecting the shaft andthemain drive sleeve, a stationary housing surrounding a portion of the shaft and the sleeve, said housing .l having a wall adjacent one end of the rotatable y housing,

housing, said wall having an oi1 opening and an oil collector ring surrounding the shaft and the opening, said rotatable housing having one end projecting into said oil collector ring adjacent the stationary Wall and being provided with a passage `for the flow of oil from the rotary housing into the oil collector ring, said oil being adapted to flow'through the opening in the wall of said stationary housing.

2. A planetary transmission having a shaft and a main drive sleeve surrounding said shaft and spaced therefrom to define an annular oil passage, a housing rotatable with the sleeve, a planetary train within the rotatable housing, said planetary train connecting the shaft and the main drive sleeve, a stationary housing surrounding a portion of the shaft and the sleeve, a gear driven oil pump, a subsidiary housing for the oil pump gears, said housing being in communication with the annular oil shaft and the main sleeve and with the stationary said pump being adapted to deliver oil from the stationary housing to the annular oil passage through the rotating housing and back to the stationary housing and to supply oil to the subsidiary housing and from said subsidiary housing back to the stationary housing.

3. In a planetary transmission including a sun gear, a planet gear and cage, and a rotating housing including a ring gear in mesh with the planet gear, a brake drum rotatable with the rotating housing, a brake drum rotatable with the passage between the e sun gear shaft, a band brake for each brake drum,

` means for normally holding both bands in braking engagement with their drums by constant fluid under pressure applied over a given operative area and for selectively disengaging any of said bands from their drums by applying fluid `under identical pressure over a greater area counter to the force effecting the braking engagement.

4. Ink a planetary transmission including a sun gear, planet gears and cage, and a rotating housing including a ring gear in mesh with the planet gears, a brake drum rotatable with the said bands from their drums selectively while maintaining said pressure.

5. In a planetary transmission including a sun gear, planet gears and cage, and a rotating housing including a ring gear in mesh with the planet gears, a brake drum rotatable with the rotating housing, a brake drum rotatable lwith the sun gear shaft, a band brake for each brake drum, a double acting cylinder having a piston operatively connected with each brake band, each of said pistons having a large pressure area on one side and a small pressure area on the other side', said cylinders being adapted for connection to a source of fluid under pressure to apply pressure constantly tothe small pressure area side of each piston and to be selectively applied to large pressureareas of said pistons and a valve for controlling the flow of fluid to the large piston areas of each cylinder.

FRANK LENDRUM LAWRENCE. 

